Technology and the Classroom

The ever-increasing influence of ICT in all classrooms is one of the fundamental issues facing educators of all students, whether at a primary, secondary or tertiary level. As a pre-service teacher who finished my high school education a mere seven years ago, the changes in the sophistication and prominence of technology in all aspects of education has been remarkable to witness. Keeping pace with the advances in technology and its application to teaching has been one of the more complicated aspects of my development as a preservice teacher to date. Being up to date with new technology in teaching is simultaneously one of the more important aspects of the profession for a preservice teacher to come to terms with, as its importance to teaching becomes more and more pronounced.

The rapid advancement of technology and its influence in classrooms presents a wide array of opportunities for meaningful and productive learning unheard of even a few years ago. The variety of activities, assessment and learning opportunities made readily available through the increase in availability of devices such as laptops, smartphone and tablet devices has increased greatly. Collaborative opportunities in particular are much easier than in the past thanks to the Internet and programs such as Edmodo, Google Hangouts and Skype. Technology can be particularly useful for the administrative and assessment aspects of the profession. The ability to streamline marking processes through programs such as Google Docs and Google Sheets can potentially save a significant amount of time in this regard. In order to maximise these opportunities, it is important for teachers to educate themselves on new technologies and know how to use them within their subject areas.

As exciting as employing new technology is for a preservice teacher, elaborate technologies, particularly in the hands of new teachers can result in losing sight of what is most important, which is meaningful and effective learning for students. In my early attempts at lesson and unit planning, I am having to continually remind myself to maintain a focus on what I want students to learn, as opposed to what devices or technology I might utilise to get there. Without effective, targeted use of technology which is pertinent to the topic or subject at hand, learning can actually be hampered. If computers and the Internet are not utilised in clearly expressed and deliberate ways, they can quickly become a source of distraction for students.

There are other potential drawbacks of using digital devices, particularly in subjects such as English and the Humanities, my areas of teaching, in terms of reading and note-taking on digital devices as opposed to pen and paper. Studies have shown that note-taking using paper and pen consistently results in greater retention of knowledge as opposed to note-taking on a computer. Similar studies have also shown that reading a paper book results in greater knowledge retention than reading on a screen. Since reading and note-taking on reading which occurs within the classroom are two fundamental activities which occur frequently in any English and Humanities class, these findings should make a teacher think carefully before utilising ICT in place of more low-tech teaching methods.

To finish, I pose some questions to you, the reader: How do you utilise new technology and social media within your teaching practice? How do you account for the potential pitfalls of these technologies and maximise their beneficial aspects in achieving learning outcomes within your subject areas? It would be great to get some of your thoughts and perspectives on this topic.